Congratulations to them both

Sissy and Pingu got engaged on the 18th November. They've been dating for just under three years and been living here for about the same length of time LOL.

He spend £1,620 on a third of a carat diamond set in platinum! And he was forced to propose sooner than he'd planned because she found out about the ring and spoiled the surprise. In a way it was probably for the best as he was trying to come up with all manner of expensive gimmicks for 'popping the question' - like hiring the whole London Eye for £500, or setting something up at the London Aquarium. I wouldn't have put it past him to hire a sky-writing plane or something even more outrageous!

Anyway, he eventually did the whole 'one knee' thing in his Mum's kitchen and they celebrated by going for a drink in the pub where they first met. It was meaningful for them and I guess at the end of the day that's all that counts :o)


I admit that part of me was/is a tiny bit jealous... probably because at heart I'm a total softie and closet romantic (although if you tell anyone I may have to kill you!), plus I doubt I'll ever get married as I'm too set in my ways... and also petrified of meeting new people. Not exactly conducive to finding someone LOL!

I just hope that this sign of commitment on Pingu's part will convince Sissy that he's not going to run off with someone else now. Fingers crossed she will calm down and stop being so paranoid about him finding someone better than her.

I got an answer to my question/Gem at the vets

It seems that because I've already switched the name back to the free host that my blog should be safe... I just hope that come March the person that answered wasn't wrong!



Has anyone else noticed that when you take an animal to the vet that you end up looking a complete liar? We had to take our old cat today as her claws on her front paws had grown so long that they were digging into her paw pads and making her feet bleed! It's a problem that should have been obvious earlier, but for the fact that Gem hates contact with people except on her terms... and even then it's just the odd head scratch. We all thought that her walking a bit stiff lately was due to her being 19 years old and having arthritis in her legs... well, it wasn't, it was because of her claws. Having a cat hiss and spit at you if you get too close has a way of making you keep your distance lol. It was only when Mum noticed that her right paw was bleeding slightly that we made an appointment for her at the vets yesterday (once our landline was fixed on Thursday, after we noticed the bleeding on Wednesday).

So we took her to the vets, with all the attendant moaning and meowing in the car on the way there, and the vet just picked her up out of the pet carrier (we have never been able to pick her up without a virtual fight... which we lose!) and the vet was stroking her and touching her back near her tail straight away... it took us about three years before Gem trusted us enough to let anyone stroke her properly (from head to end of tail!)

They tried to cut her claws whilst we were waiting outside, but because they were quite bad when they did the first couple and the pads on the right paw started to bleed quite heavily, poor Gem just got really distressed so they asked for permission to sedate her and carry on. I readily gave consent for that, even with the warning that it could carry the complication of her reacting badly and passing away. What could I do? I couldn't just let her have painful and possibly infected feet for the rest of her life... so we had no choice but to leave her there and come home again.

It was 2pm yesterday before we phoned and got the good news that Gem was fine and up and awake (although still wobbly from the sedation) and we could go back and get her :o)

She looked a bit of a state, bless her, with both paws done up in little feline boxing gloves and the fur on her back legs shaved (because it was matted where she's unable to wash herself properly because of her age... it has only been in the past few months that she has allowed me anywhere near her with a brush!)

Anyway, all is well now, and she has to go back on Monday to have her dressings looked at... although the sneaky moo has already pulled off the left paw one and Mum had to loosen the tape on the right one as Gem wouldn't settle with it and kept trying to get that one off, too. Seeing as that is the worse of the two feet we want to keep that one covered for as long as possible. Mum phoned and asked if it was ok for her to pull the dressing off and was told that as long as there is not very heavy bleeding it's fine and not to worry as cats heal really quickly. If the bleeding gets too bad we are to phone their switchboard and they will give us the address of the 24 hour emergency premises.

We have the lovely job of trying to get antibiotic tablets into Gem starting from Sunday, twice a day, just to make sure that her feet heal properly... but apart from that she should be fine. They were happy with her weight, and her teeth are in good condition for a cat her age (nothing rotting or needing treatment, which is good news). We have to pop out tomorrow and get a special grooming mitt so that we can brush her properly... but it's a small price to pay to have her with us for as long as possible.

My temporary lactose intolerance appears to have gone, for now.

I often get bouts of lactose intolerance, when my system is all awry the first thing I become very sensitive to is milk (and it can last from a few weeks to months). The only way to check if I still have it is to drink milk... and if I am still sensitive to it the outcome is far from pleasant! I had a glass of milk three hours ago and I've had no bloating, nausea, stomach pain so far, and usually the first two hours are when I will get something that lets me know if I shouldn't be ingesting something.

I noticed that I've been able to eat cheese lately without any problems, and now it looks as if milk is ok for me too (although I'm taking it slowly and not flooding my system with dairy, just in case it flares up again in protest hahaha).

Now I know I can have wheat, eggs and hopefully dairy my diet should improve (as trying to find things to eat that didn't upset me used to get so demoralising that I used to lose all interest in cooking!)

I'm not brave enough to try the onions yet... they used to cause me dreadful pain and send me to bed, and I'm not bothered about onions, garlic or mushrooms any way! I hate the smell of garlic, and did even when I could eat it! Nasty stuff.

Finally, some good news regarding work

Just had our local childminding co-ordinator around (yet again, third visit) and we are finally meeting all of the daft requirements that Ofsted now demand that people meet. That means that there are no more scheduled visit from her this year... so happy. I get so stressed out when I think of her coming round as she has a habit of finding the smallest, trivial things to "action" us about (actioning means that she'll make a follow-up appointment and then come back again to make sure you've done the things she recommends and that you are "doing as you're told!")

We now have nothing planned, visit wise, until the new year... that means I can have a stress free xmas without the worry of people "making sure" I know how to do the job I've been doing for almost 18 years! It's all glorified paper wasting, but "it has to be seen to be done!"

Madness  *sigh*

Hopefully I have my laptop back (for the most part anyway)

Mum is using Sissy's. Sissy never really uses hers (a lovely Sony that she got for uni... all she does is watch videos and put songs on her iPod). Hopefully this means that I have mine back, and I've so missed it I can tell you.

Hopefully it means that I can be around more than I'd thought I would be. I was so bored and frustrated using the old laptop yesterday, it got so bad that I shut the thing down and watched tv instead!

Update

Well, so much has happened.

1) Angel-boy's face is almost healed. The visit to the vets went well, I was in and out within 15 minutes. The abscess was not very big at all (so glad I didn't wait) and there was virtually nothing in it, so it was easy to drain. The only evidence of it now is a small scab and a large area of shaved face (which is funny), though fortunately he didn't lose any whiskers.

2) My job isn't as bad as I though it was... we had a visit from an Ofsted woman today and although it wasn't the best, the situation is not so bad that we have to cease looking after kids (which I was worried about). There is so much to do now, and I'm hoping that the courses we are waiting to start will help to sort it out. I think our positive attitudes and the fact that we acknowledged that we did things wrong and are prepared to change... it went a long way admitting we made mistakes in the past and we are determined to change for the future. We still have to have an inspection sometime in the near future, but I'll try and worry about that later.

We don't have to go on an eight week course, now... just the four courses that we are missing. I felt better when I found out about that. The supervisor of the woman that came to see us agreed that it was insulting to make us attend the same courses as someone new to the job. Also, after reading the stuff she left for almost a solid week (in between actually looking for the kids, which I have to admit Mum has done more of than I have... I seem to handle the paperwork better and she better handle the kids, so it all works out well for us in the end, lol) I was able to talk to the Ofsted woman and not sound like a total idiot. I seem to read the stuff and then pass that knowledge along to Mum as she is not a great reader and I am an avid reader. I was even able to correct the woman about the main abuse catergories (she said five, I said four - and I was right, lol).


Anyway... I am gradually calming down now after seeming to have lived on a knife-edge for the past week. Hopefully I'll get a better night's sleep tonight... I tend not to worry as long as I know where I stand, plus, I have most of next week off, so I'll get a bit of holiday time (at worst I am working only two days, Wednesday and Friday, but hopefully the kids' Dad is trying to get the Friday off). Fingers crossed (also, without the kids here I can get out and get some outing risk assessments so that I can take them places once they come back, lol).

So much for the next day update, lol

I've not felt comfy in even opening this page in case it's seen by "other people".

Fortunately they are both gone until Sunday at the earliest. Their friends are getting married on Friday so they are staying nearer to the venue (Pingu is sort of second best man... he'll get none of the credit but the silly sod is doing all of the running around, getting the stuff sorted that the "real" best man will no doubt get the thanks for at the reception *sigh*). I've no idea just why it takes four days, but I'm not complaining. I think that Pingu is getting his new tattoo started on the Sunday, it will be going from his neck just by his ear right down his right arm to his elbow... I have no idea just how much it's costing, but he's already put down a £200 deposit and he's giving them another £100 on the day!... and something tells me that he'll be going back at least three more times (such a huge waste of money, but there we go... both of them always seem to find the cash for stuff like that, yet not for the bills they should be paying... madness *sigh*)

Anyway... I started work with more kids today. A brother and sister (he 2 1/2 and she 5), three days a week, Wed, Thu and Fri. It means I lose my half day off Wed and my day off on Fri (which is a shame as I'd got really used to them, lol), but it's money and the little boy (I'll call him by his initial, G) is infinitely better than I thought he would be... if anything it's his sister (C) that is a bit of a whinger, but it doesn't work with us (others have tried and failed in the past, hehe). They weren't meant to be here tomorrow as their Mum came in and said they were both going to their grans' house, but it turns out their gran bogged off down to her caravan so they will be here after all (that's the main reason the kids are with us, their Mum was always being let down when it came to family taking care of the kids... sometimes she even had to take time off work as there was no one to care for them as had been arranged beforehand! :( )

It's really nice having spare money again (I was paid this morning for this week, which was lovely). Just to go shopping and be able to buy something if I want to (even though there is now nothing that I want, so ironic, hehe). To not have to worry about either having gas and electricity or eating... to be able to pay our bills and not keep having to stall people with empty promises to pay them later - well, it makes all the difference in getting a good night's sleep!

I was woken up three times by Pingu last night! I was livid this morning... I never wake during the night, so if I'm woken I end up feeling as if I've not been to sleep. He woke me at 3am crashing about in the toilet... then his alarm was so loud it woke me at 4.30am... and then he woke me again when he left for work at just gone 5am. The first thing I did with my new wages was to go into my local chemist and buy £2's worth of earplugs! I've been looking at the garish hot-pink soft foam rubber things for weeks, but resisted the urge to get them. However, last night convinced me that it would be a sound investment, lol. Typical that I buy them and then the noise is gone as they are both away for four nights, hahaha! I have no doubt that they will be worth every penny when they return, though.

So loving the cooler weather at the moment... sadly it won't last, but it's so much nicer being able to sleep in a cool room instead of feeling as if you've just layed down in Satan's armpit!

Bye-bye roadworks.

So glad to see you bugger off, lol! Wonderful to be able to park near my house, on either side of the road and not be too far away from home so that I can take my Dad the places he needs to go without having a mile hike to get to the car! There are still roadworks, but they are now at the bottom of the hill, not sure what they're doing, but I'm happy as long as they are doing it way over there.

We lost our appeal of the parking ticket, so we have to pay that soon (just one of those things you use as a life lesson, I suppose)... thieving bastards!!

I have got a very sensitive tooth at the moment... I'm hoping that it's just a touch of neuralgia and not a cavity! Don't have the money to go to the dentist and I did have sore teeth all over my mouth a few weeks ago. It doesn't hurt all the time, I can't bite down on it very hard and it is very "jabby" when I have stuff that's cold, but it doesn't hurt otherwise and doesn't hurt when I brush my teeth, so I'm a little confused. I do have fissures in my teeth, but the dentist said when I was younger that my mouth structure is too small for the large teeth I have, so to relieve the pressure it created fissures in my teeth. I also have a dodgy wisdom tooth on the same side (it grew at a strange angle, and sometimes makes all of the teeth on that side sensitive :( ) FIngers crossed that is all it is.

Anyway... I mustn't grumble, and we had a beautiful day here today... sunny and warm, and I cleaned the car (again) so I'm hoping it doesn't rain now (usually does when I clean the car, hehe).

I was in the garden and I've seen some of the things that I want to do this year... some plants I want to get in the ground and out of pots, and also I have an idea for growing some herbs and veg (must start off the seeds soon, need to get a little greenhouse, too). Exciting times are just around the corner in my little patch of heaven :)

YES!

The boys are not here tomorrow (just got a text message telling us)... that means a week of no kids... Happy, Happy, Happy.

We are getting the new car...

... I have to go and collect it next Wednesday between 10.30 and 11am!!

I should be excited, but I just can't be... it seems too good to be true, and until I actually have the keys in my hand and drive the car away it won't actually sink in. So many times in the past I've got all excited about things, only for them to never happen, so I think it's best if I let the inner pessimist loose (just this once) and not get my hopes up.

We also had the MedEquip people round this morning, delivering some of the things that the occupational health visitor suggested Dad might need... some of the things are dumb, like the seat for sitting in the bath that sits on the top of the bath meaning that nothing but your feet are in the water, or that if you're having a shower because there is no way to get the shower curtain under the thing, that the water will just pour down the shower curtain and the outside of the bath and make the floor all wet! The only good about it is that if you were having a shower it would give you a place to sit down if you needed to, but my Dad has the shortest showers, ever... he considers anything over five minutes as long, so I can't see the point of it! They are coming back tomorrow to put leg extenders on the chairs in the back room (so that it's easier for him to get up out of the chairs), but then again he rarely sits in there anymore, so again I can't really see the point... and if they are not able to take my weight that means that I can't sit in them (which is stupid as I sit in them more than he does!). They gave him a grabbing thing for picking stuff up, which is rubbish as my Nana had one, and we sent it back, but the one thing that he does need (**TMI ALERT** something to help him clean himself after he has a poo, as he cannot reach anymore and it's a real struggle for him), they know nothing about! So much for that, then **sigh**

I feel quite strange today... sort of unsettled about something, I can't really put my finger on it... there is just something not quite right. Maybe it's because I got up late and I feel all off kilter, time wise. I'm used to getting up and going for a walk in the morning, but this morning as it was so cold (and the cold air really affects my seasonal asthma and makes me cough and feel as if I have something constricting my chest) Mum let me stay in bed. I wish that I'd got up now, my back is killing me and I think I was having a weird dream, but I can't remember it. This head cold has also brought back the low pitched humming in my right ear, which is really annoying... even when there is silence I still have the humming, in fact the quieter it is, the louder the humming seems to get!

Even the grey of the sky is starting to piss me off... I can honestly say that I can't wait for spring this year. Even for just a day of sunshine or failing that just a hint of blue sky... it would make all the difference. Everything just seems so dismal and boring... there doesn't seem to be any life to see anywhere, when all is so ashen and bare. Everything seems so dark and depressing. I can see why people get depressed in winter or suffer from SAD, I'm just fed up with it now, I can't imagine what it must be like to be actually deeply affected by it for months on end. Anyone that is has by complete sympathy!

YIPPEE!!!

YEEESSSS!!

I am now on holiday... two whole weeks. All of the kids are gone until January 6th and I am really so very happy. I'm not bothered about presents, or good tv or anything like that... I have what I wanted for xmas - good food and time off from the kids LOL!!


We had snow last night and this morning in the early hours. About two inches, which was considerably less than predicted, about which I am incredibly glad. I used to love snow when I was young, but ever since I've been driving I've come to look on snow with dread. The thought of skidding my car and being stuck in the snow is not something that appeals to me in the slightest. When we had all that snow at the beginning of the year, I had to wear shoes to take the kids to school and they caused me terrible blisters (the shoes had special soles that had mini crampons on the bottom for walking on compacted snow and ice)... so I was dreading having to wear them again if the conditions underfoot proved to be incredibly treacherous (those shoes and my feet just do not get on in any way, LOL!! Sadly they are the best shoes I have for slippery conditions and I have to be careful as if I fall or something then we could be in a tight spot as there will be no-one here to drive the car and do the other school run, hence my being glad about the snow being bearable and the risks to life and limb being very slight).

A little good news...

... we went to the fracture clinic, and after spending two hours there, all told, the doctor said that Mum hasn't got any kind of break in her elbow, arm or neck and she just has a bad sprain and bruising and stiffness from the fall. So happy that nothing's broken... we celebrated by doing... the weekly shop! How damned exciting, hehehe!

A quick update...

... Joshie is doing well and out of the hospital. He has lost so much weight, though... a whole stone (12 pounds) in nine days!! He never had that much meat on him to start with so he looks really skinny now. He is eating and walking around, though, so he's on the mend. Thank you to all that kept him in your thoughts   (((hugs)))



Sissy is back again for the weekend. It was the scareist drive I have ever done... most of the motorways on the way down and back have no lights on them for huge long stretches, and I've never driven in the dark before. I love the person that invented cats' eyes, though, would love to give them hug as sometimes it was so dark that without them I'd have been in trouble... especially when the air got misty a few times :( Such a weird sensation to be in the dark, yet be dazzled by headlights from other cars at the same time. Mum got so nervous that in the end I was doing 50mph on the M25, so as you can imagine I was being overtaken all the time.. not that I cared, I was a bit nervous myself. I have a feeling that I'm going to be doing it all over again on Monday night to take her back... what joy, LOL!!!

Not all bad, though... I only took one wrong turn... I must be getting better with practice, hahaha!!!


I also don't think that I have a yeast intolerance after all... I've been eating bread all week (after having some toast, just to test it out) and I've had no adverse effects at all. So it can't be that and I have run out of ideas of what it can be  **sigh** The search for my digestive gremlin continues......

I feel really fed-up!

Ever had one of those days where you feel really fed-up for no reason you can think of? That's how I feel today. I have zero patience for stupid things and all I want to do is to be left alone! Not possible when you work with kids and they are still here   **sigh**

I've felt sort of weird for a while now, and it's nothing that I can put my finger on. I just feel sort of, blah, like everything is too much trouble and all I want to do is eat nice things and watch Last of the Summer Wine. I don't really feel like posting in forums, in fact I've just resigned from the big one I'm staff at today, I just can't be bothered with it anymore. Whether it's the "**had Bonfire Night, long time til Christmas type feeling**" I have no idea... I just seem to have zero tolerance for idiocy and people being dumb (bad news in this house, as my Dad has a passion for really winding me up by playing both parts extraordinarily well!!  *sigh*)

Sometimes I wish I had the ability to hibernate... it would be so very helpful right about now!


On a good note, though, Josh is out of the hospital and on his way up here as I write... I'm so glad that he is feeling better... not 100% well, but definitely on the mend :)... can't wait to give him a hug when he gets here. He's here!!!!!


{edited to add} Josh has lost a stone in weight (12 pounds) in nine days!! No wonder he looks so thin and gaunt... he was built like a bean pole before all of this!



**as said by Bren from dinnerladies**

Some good news, though.

We finally got a reply from the DLA (Disability Living Allowance) about my Dad's claim... and they said YES!!!

Such good news, especially as they have back-dated the money to June of this year, so not only do we get more money monthly, but we also have had a nice lump sum put in the bank!   **does the happy dance**

That money will come in so handy, and we have already used some of it to pay the mortgage that hadn't been paid for last month as there is a hold up with one of the Mum's getting her Family Tax Credits (this makes seven weeks now that I haven't been paid) and we were starting to get letters from the building society getting nastier everytime, so hopefully now they will stop and I will be able to not have to panic at night before I go to sleep about being homeless for christmas! (and all week despite my best efforts, I have been worrying about just that).

Dad is also happier as he feels that he's doing something to help us out, even though it's just getting the money that he actually deserves (as so many times in the past he's been more or less told to sod off!)

YAY.. an unexpected day off!

So brilliant, I have to go nowhere today (even though I am dressed to go out now, which is typical, LOL!!) The only thing I wish is that I could have more than 15 minutes notice... if I'd have known that I had a day off I could have done so much earlier on (cleaned, gone shopping, stayed in bed, whatever I wanted)... anyway, at least the house will not sound like a lunatic asylum this afternoon (seriously, working with kids the house is sometimes utter bedlam LOL!)



I must admit to starting to feel excited about the approach of Samhain (or Hallow'een to the none pagans).

It is my absolute favourite pagan festival and I also adore it for the goth aspect, too... most of the shops are decorated to my tastes and I don't get stared at when I go out, LOL! Plus I get to stock up on the "essentials" for the coming year, which consists of Hallow'een jewellery, gloves, tights, nail polish, toys, sweets, stickers, badges, brooches, beads, hair accessories, home decor and in some cases even music as a lot of my kind of music seems to get made into Hallow'een party compilation cds! LOL!! Even the horror movies I like are on sale, so I even get to refresh my dvd collection for a fraction of the price as well... WOOHOO!!! **does the happy dance**

Interview re-scheduled for tomorrow (take 2, LOL)

Well... the girl from Friday has still not spoken to us, except for a very strange call this morning where she rang us and then never said anything... so we rang the Mum of the girl with ADHD and she sounded so pleased when we said that we have a space again (fibbing, but there you go) and she is coming to see us about midday tomorrow.

It'll be more walking for Mum (but she's so pissed off at the other woman jiving us about that she doesn't want her in here now anyway) yet as she is going to be the one doing it, I suppose it's decision made, LOL!

I feel better now, whereas before I felt a total bitch... fingers crossed she likes us now after all of this palaver!

Hopefully...

... the car problems will be fixed this time tomorrow.

We finally managed to get hold of the mechanic that used to be down the road from us... he's semi-retired and is now in Tunbridge, but he's up in London a few times a week doing jobs for old customers and friends. He tested the battery for me, and at first there was nothing wrong with it, but as I about to leave it made the very noise that I was trying (and failing badly) to describe that it makes. He then re-tested the battery and he thinks that it maybe faulty.

We have a new battery arriving tomorrow and he's going to fit and check it over for us (as for the current one, although it's probably still under a guarantee of some kind, we cannot find the papers for it here, and they don't keep a paper record of sales, only work carried out, so we can't prove how long we've had it, which is a shame).

So, hopefully, the car should be working again... so all I have to do now is pray that it passes it's MOT, LOL!

Well, that's good news anyway

We called the breakdown guy out for the car, and he said that there is nothing wrong with the battery (which is fully charged) or the alternator (which must be fine as the battery is fully charged), it is the starter motor that is the problem. The breakdown man even bypassed the battery on the car, with one of those huge rechargable battery packs that give jump-starts, and that didn't work, so it has to be the starter motor.

But... we called the mobile mechanic out that put the starter motor on about six weeks ago (they are a 24/7 call-out place) and after profusely apologising for the bad part they are coming back out tomorrow sometime to replace it free of charge, as the current one is still under the it's one year warranty.

So at least it's not going to cost us anymore money (which is great as we haven't got any).

It still has to go through it's MOT sometime this month (can't find the old MOT from last year, as it's playing a splendid game of hide and seek, so will have to phone the garage that did it last year and ask them when it's due, get it booked in, blah, blah, blah)... at least, after tomorrow, I'll (hopefully) be able to drive it there myself... which is a relief.

Well that's good news

It seems that since turning veggie that I've lost weight! I've not exercised anymore, but I seem to have lost 12 pounds (which I was disappointed about until it was pointed out to me that it's almost a stone!)

I've noticed that my fingers and wrists seem smaller, and some of my clothes are looser, too. It was that which prompted me to go and get weighed (which I can only do in Boots as I'm too heavy for regular scales).

All things considered, I feel quite chuffed about that.